Two New Tools: SEOQuake & Semrush
SEO and malign influence are what's on deck for Q2.
Looks like second quarter of 2024 is going to be all about malign influence networks. I have been given access to Semrush, one of the top SEO tools out there, and my patron in this matter has told me their monthly cost for this thing is a four digit number. Looks like the minimum cost will be $130/month, but even without a plan the companion SEOQuake browser extension is full of useful stuff.
SEOQuake is a browser extension that support Chrome, Firefox, and I think it’ll also do Opera. Here’s what it looks like when installed with Semrush integration.
Sans Semrush the functions you get are:
SEOQuake domain diagnostics, has to do with SEO, obviously.
Word density unigrams through quadgrams at the word level.
Internal & External links for the current page.
Quick links to Bing & Google ranking.
Easy access to page source.
A terrible whois that requires endless Captcha.
Pintest pin count.
Once you have Semrush you also get quick links to:
Semrush rank.
Semrush backlinks for domain and subdomains
The eval period for Semrush is just seven days, so this weekend I’m going to have to get on with an introduction to it this coming weekend.
Conclusion:
I don’t do a lot with paid tools, here are the four currently in use, by order of arrival.
Maltego - $1,000/year desktop application.
RiskIQ - $90,000/year all you can eat research account.
Hunchly - free mobile tool and $129/year desktop application.
Semrush - $1,300/year for entry level, $6,000/year for API access.
Maltego Community Edition is usable. Microsoft bought RiskIQ and I’m thrilled my legacy account still has the old interface, because their offering stinks. Hunchly is inexpensive. Semrush is similar in cost to Maltego and the free SEOQuake will permit you to at least follow along a bit.
I won’t stop using RiskIQ, but I am going to pay attention to free or low cost alternatives for you.
So there you have it, let the wild rumpus commence …